The recipe I am talking about today is a carrot cake, such an oldie but a goldie, right! My recipe here is ‘stick to your fork’ moist. It has hints of cinnamon and is filled with shreds of fresh carrots. Just make sure that the carrots are fine shreds and not sticks. You can add in raisins or walnuts to the cake or not. I like to add raw walnuts inside the cake and some candied walnuts as a decoration on the frosted cake. The frosting I used here is a Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting, this frosting is ‘my teensy twist’ on the cake. This frosting is so delicious you will be licking the bowl clean.

Frankly even though I love frosting, this cake is so flavorful and moist on its own that probably you would not need it. Wait, did I just say that? It is true! but let us just snap out of that… we do not want to cloud our judgement and pass over a chance to eat this super heavenly frosting. This frosting is super luxurious. The tangy cream cheese along with the sweet caramel is a dangerously good combination. It goes so well with the cinnamon flavor of the cake. Each bite of this cake will melt in your mouth and you would want to go back for more. I have also added an Egg-free/ Vegan option to this recipe, please see notes below the recipe for that.

So, let us take those cake stands out and have some coffee and dessert.

Total Time – 60 minutes

Active Time – 30 minutes

Yields – 6” pan

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup Sugar
• ½ cup Oil
• 2 Eggs (for egg-free option see notes below)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 ½ cup grated carrots (fine shred)
• ¼ cup walnuts/ raisins

FROSTING INGREDIENTS

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• ¼ cup thick caramel sauce
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 6” square baking pan.
2. Whisk the liquid ingredients - sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla until combined.
3. Add the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon powder. Beat again.
4. Stir in the carrots and fold in the nuts/ raisins.
5. Pour in prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
6. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

FROSTING INSTRUCTIONS

1. Make sure the cream cheese and butter are soft. This is extremely important to get a silky frosting. 
2. Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth and creamy. Add the caramel sauce and vanilla; beat until well blended.
3. Add the 1 ½ cups of confectioners' sugar and beat on low speed until blended. Add the remaining confectioners' sugar, if needed. Increase mixer speed and beat on high speed for 2 minutes.
4. If required, beat the frosting for a couple minutes longer for a super smooth and satiny texture.

EGG-FREE OPTION

I have made muffins with the same recipe and used flax egg (recipe below) as a replacement successfully. Note there are 2 eggs in this recipe so you will have to double the quantities below. This substitution can also be used in various other recipes like muffins and pancakes.

1 Egg Replacement/ Flax Egg

• 1 tbsp flax seed meal (ground raw flax seed)
• 2 1/2 tbsp water

Add flax seed meal and water to a dish and stir. Let rest for 5 minutes to thicken. Add to recipes in place of 1 egg.